Reining?

1838 Views 22 Replies 13 Participants Last post by Elliesmith, 10 mo ago

fawnprintz

Discussion Starter · 10 mo ago

Hello everyone!

I am getting into the big-time reiners this Fall and I have some questions and concerns.

1) I have a trainer who is helping me horse shop and she wants me to stay in her barn after we find a horse. I am skilled/experienced enough to maintain a non-pro reiner on my own (aside from general lessons and occasional guidance ofc), which means I don't feel the need to keep my new horse in training with her 24/7 and only ride during shows(which is what she advised). I want to bring my horse to my own farm and work with him there and occasionally haul in for lessons/training.
She tells me that a non-pro level reiner will not be able to do things like the occasional fun show (a lot of my friends do county fun shows, just to hang out and enjoy our animals) and will not be able to be trail ridden. It's been a little discouraging. I want to be able to do fun things, experiment with different disciplines and bond with this horse. I don't enjoy doing the same patterns and drills in the same arena all the time.
2) She also says that horses of that caliber can't be turned out. EVER. She says that sliders prevent these horses from going outside and also prevents them from doing things other than arena work. That bothers me a lot. The horse we will be getting will likely be under the age of 10, so I assume they need playtime and just time to decompress. I have a field that is away from other horses (so kicking others won't be an issue).. but is it even safe to turn these horses out or do anything other than arena work with them?
3) My Dad is a farrier (he's not going to try to put sliders on my horse lol we're getting someone experienced in that field for that so don't fret!) and he wondered if there was an over-the-shoe boot we could put on the horse for traction so he would be turned out and go on trails and such?

I know that these horses require a lot of leg/muscle care. I know that they're athletes that need maintenance. That isn't at ALL an issue! I LOVE showing and riding reiners, but now that it's time for my own I wonder if this is the right path after all she's told me. My friends enjoy hauling to local trails and doing all kinds of spontaneous things with their horses and I don't want to have to sit out because I have a high-level performance horse.
Should I reconsider getting a reining horse? I would like a little reassurance and guidance.. please

Thank you and have a blessed day!!

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farmpony84

· #2 · 10 mo ago

Your trainer sounds like most trainers in my area. They want the horse in training 24/7. I think it's because they are tying their name to the horse and they want you to win win win. Most of the riders that have horses with trainers expect to win. That's what they are paying for. I am doing my horse at my house and hauling to trainers. It's taking me a lot longer and I'm much further behind then I would have been if I had gone the trainer route. I did not buy a made horse though, I bought a baby. If you are buying a made horse then you are already way ahead of a lot of people.

I think there are a few things to consider. If you want to learn to really ride your horse, then you kind of do need to have full access to him. Riding him once a week at a trainers ins't going to give you a good feel of what to do and how to do it. BUT you will probably win way more than you don't with the horse at the trainers.

If you are ok with the occasional bad day and you know that you can get the help you need, then I personally would keep the horse at home. But I like the feel that you get when you have put all the work in and go to a show and get the win. I haven't seen a win yet but I just started showing again. I do know a girl that has qualified for the world that does not do the full time trainer. She does use trainers though. She will send her horse for the winter months, so probably November to March-ish... sometimes longer depending on the weather I think. Then she maintains and hauls to lessons through the Summer. I'm actually thinking into looking at that option for myself. It's something for you to consider.

When you say "high-level" Reiners then you may have no choice but to use a full time trainer if you want to be competitive.... I am not sure this post was helpful. Sorry.

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fawnprintz

Discussion Starter · #3 · 10 mo ago

farmpony84 said:
Your trainer sounds like most trainers in my area. They want the horse in training 24/7. I think it's because they are tying their name to the horse and they want you to win win win. Most of the riders that have horses with trainers expect to win. That's what they are paying for. I am doing my horse at my house and hauling to trainers. It's taking me a lot longer and I'm much further behind then I would have been if I had gone the trainer route. I did not buy a made horse though, I bought a baby. If you are buying a made horse then you are already way ahead of a lot of people.

I think there are a few things to consider. If you want to learn to really ride your horse, then you kind of do need to have full access to him. Riding him once a week at a trainers ins't going to give you a good feel of what to do and how to do it. BUT you will probably win way more than you don't with the horse at the trainers.

If you are ok with the occasional bad day and you know that you can get the help you need, then I personally would keep the horse at home. But I like the feel that you get when you have put all the work in and go to a show and get the win. I haven't seen a win yet but I just started showing again. I do know a girl that has qualified for the world that does not do the full time trainer. She does use trainers though. She will send her horse for the winter months, so probably November to March-ish... sometimes longer depending on the weather I think. Then she maintains and hauls to lessons through the Summer. I'm actually thinking into looking at that option for myself. It's something for you to consider.

When you say "high-level" Reiners then you may have no choice but to use a full time trainer if you want to be competitive.... I am not sure this post was helpful. Sorry.

Very helpful! Thank you!!

Zimalia22

· #4 · 10 mo ago

I agree, that's what all trainers want. But! That's not what they all get!
Of course you can keep your horse at your place. And YES It's great for them to be rode for something else in their off time. It keeps their minds fresh, and looking forward to the next work.
We bred, raised, and showed cutting horses for many years. We always kept our horses at home. If there was a young horse we put in training, of course, he stayed at the trainers. But our older show horses were home with us. We used them in general ranch work. it's good for them to do something else!

Get your horse. Go trail riding, ranch work, etc. They ARE a trained horse, and it won't take much to tune them up when you want to go to a show.

You are absolutely right, they need time off, time to decompress. Its not like you are taking a horse in the aged events and getting them doing other things. I mean, futurity, maturity, classic and challenge. Even by the time it's Classic and Challenge, you should be able to take them home and just use them.

Do I think you should get your own reiner? Oh HECK yeah! Go for it!!

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fawnprintz

Discussion Starter · #5 · 10 mo ago

Zimalia22 said:
I agree, that's what all trainers want. But! That's not what they all get!
Of course you can keep your horse at your place. And YES It's great for them to be rode for something else in their off time. It keeps their minds fresh, and looking forward to the next work.
We bred, raised, and showed cutting horses for many years. We always kept our horses at home. If there was a young horse we put in training, of course, he stayed at the trainers. But our older show horses were home with us. We used them in general ranch work. it's good for them to do something else!

Get your horse. Go trail riding, ranch work, etc. They ARE a trained horse, and it won't take much to tune them up when you want to go to a show.

You are absolutely right, they need time off, time to decompress. Its not like you are taking a horse in the aged events and getting them doing other things. I mean, futurity, maturity, classic and challenge. Even by the time it's Classic and Challenge, you should be able to take them home and just use them.

Do I think you should get your own reiner? Oh HECK yeah! Go for it!!

Amazing!! Thank you so much!

How do I go about the sliders? Can they be out without any issues? Should I look into over-the-shoe boots for turn-out and trails?

ACinATX

· #6 · 10 mo ago

Zimalia22 said:
Get your horse. Go trail riding, ranch work, etc. They ARE a trained horse, and it won't take much to tune them up when you want to go to a show.

But would having the slider-type shoes make things like trail riding more difficult or even dangerous? Would the horse be more likely to slip?

QtrBel

· #7 · 10 mo ago

I'd think just don't plan on trails during show season. Same for turn our as sliders and grass are a slip waiting to happen. Other than that a friend when I was in college tapped holes in the sliders and used studs for traction. She could screw them in when needed and take them out for practice and shows. I think she had plugs for the holes when there were no studs. Her horse was kept alone with just over a double fence contact (see but not touch).

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QtrBel

· #8 · 10 mo ago

ACinATX said:
But would having the slider-type shoes make things like trail riding more difficult or even dangerous? Would the horse be more likely to slip?

Yes, on certain surfaces they are a slip hazard. Or a catch hazard.

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Ringo-Slater

· #9 · 10 mo ago

This is a bit off topic but I think all horses need some turnout to blow off steam and be a horse especially a young horse. I would think hand walking and possible arena turn out time would be safe just so he/she could hang out, run around, buck, fart. (I don’t know much about reining just my two cents on turnout)

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ClearDonkey

· #10 · 10 mo ago

Your trainer is thinking of one thing - $$$. The money in her pocket for her to maintain your horse full time at her facility is WAY more than you just taking lessons and keeping your horse at home. I would consider temporarily boarding the horse temporarily at her facility and haver more hands-on training for the first month or two, so you and your horse can get to know each other, but there is zero reason why you shouldn't be the main rider on YOUR horse.

A horse living a life wrapped in bubble-wrap, unable to be turned out, is not a happy horse. You can turn this horse out. My BO has three reining horses that he actively shows and all three live full-time outside, in a herd situation (and all have sliders on). He also takes them trail riding too - as long as the trails are not hazardous and are well-groomed, there is zero reason why you can't trail ride your horse too. He goes to shows, wins money, and enjoys the horses at home too.

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beau159

· #11 · 10 mo ago

fawnprintz said:
1) I have a trainer who is helping me horse shop and she wants me to stay in her barn after we find a horse. I am skilled/experienced enough to maintain a non-pro reiner on my own (aside from general lessons and occasional guidance ofc), which means I don't feel the need to keep my new horse in training with her 24/7 and only ride during shows(which is what she advised). I want to bring my horse to my own farm and work with him there and occasionally haul in for lessons/training.
She tells me that a non-pro level reiner will not be able to do things like the occasional fun show (a lot of my friends do county fun shows, just to hang out and enjoy our animals) and will not be able to be trail ridden. It's been a little discouraging. I want to be able to do fun things, experiment with different disciplines and bond with this horse. I don't enjoy doing the same patterns and drills in the same arena all the time.
2) She also says that horses of that caliber can't be turned out. EVER. She says that sliders prevent these horses from going outside and also prevents them from doing things other than arena work. That bothers me a lot. The horse we will be getting will likely be under the age of 10, so I assume they need playtime and just time to decompress. I have a field that is away from other horses (so kicking others won't be an issue).. but is it even safe to turn these horses out or do anything other than arena work with them?
3) My Dad is a farrier (he's not going to try to put sliders on my horse lol we're getting someone experienced in that field for that so don't fret!) and he wondered if there was an over-the-shoe boot we could put on the horse for traction so he would be turned out and go on trails and such?

Sounds like your trainer is looking out for HER best interested and not YOURS. I would establish a very, very clear line with her on that right out the gate.

Yes you can keep your horse at your place.
Yes you can do occasional fun shows (it is your horse - you do darn well as you please).
Yes you can go on trail rides but as others have said, be very, very mindful if your horse has on slides because they ARE slippery. Maybe keep it at a walk only and be really conscious about inclines/declines, surfaces, etc.
Yes you must turn out your horse! Good grief, horses go crazy being kept in a stall 24/7. They must have turnout for their mental health.

You can do this. Use your trainer as a resource when you need her, and lessons when YOU want them. Othewise, do your own thing. If she is not okay with that, then she is not the trainer for you.

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Zimalia22

· #12 · 10 mo ago

ACinATX said:
But would having the slider-type shoes make things like trail riding more difficult or even dangerous? Would the horse be more likely to slip?

She was looking for some sort of boot that she would put on over the sliders.

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Zimalia22

· #13 · 10 mo ago

When I bought my Cat stallion, he'd been at a well known reining trainer's place. They owned him. But, and this was huge, he HATES sliding. If he feels himself slip even a tiny bit, it's forget it! He's done! As cutters, we lope a LOT to get horses warmed up. Cat felt himself slip a bit in the warm up pen, and that was it, he was done. Oh you could get him to walk, but anything over that, nope not happening. LOL Then I took him inside, and he cut the hair off that buffalo!
He had sliders on when I bought him. I don't know why, he was not anywhere near far enough in training for them. Needless to say, when I got him delivered to my ranch, they were the first order of business to get rid of. Guess I should have had them bronzed as baby shoes or something.
Can't speak for other horses, but I can for that stallion. He would have NEVER made a reiner as much as he hates to slip.

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kewpalace

· #14 · 10 mo ago (Edited)

I ride cowhorses at a non-pro level. I was told much of the same thing (as far as training) when I first started, but I was not willing to have my horse NOT on my property and I wanted to do the training myself. That means the horse will not be as "finely turned" for showing as if he were at a trainers 24/7. But it did mean that I could use my horse for what ever the heck I wanted. We did trail rides. We did Trail Trials. We did Ranch Horse and Ranch Versatility shows. She was turned out for the majority of the time. While we struggled at cowhorse shows (I did get regular lessons), on my first horse (a 1/2 Arab - gasp!!) we were in the top 5 in our association. With my 2nd horse, we made the NRCHA world finals and got to go to Texas for the Finals shows.

While my horses were pretty much green to cowhorse when I started them in it, I know people in my class who bought high $$ cowhorses to be really competitive. They keep them at home and do regular lessons. And they also do other things with them. Heck , the top cowhorse trainers use their Show horses (snaffle bitters, derby horses - all their horses) for ranch work. So rounding up cows, roping and branding.

Part of cowhorse is a reining pattern. My horses are in sliders. My horses trail ride in sliders. They are turned out in sliders. They have never been hurt in any manner from having sliders on. I don't notice them slipping/sliding any more. I know some people add corks to the sliders when they are not showing to prevent sliding/slipping. I have never done that.

I don't think you'd ever regret keeping your horse at home. And if you did, you can always put them into training.

ETA - my horses are NOT on any grassy surface. We have dirt & rocks. The times I have ridden on grassy surface at a trainers, it was slippery with sliders. But the trainer rode his horses w/sliders on it. Not sure I'd do the same on a regular basis.

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fawnprintz

Discussion Starter · #15 · 10 mo ago

Zimalia22 said:
She was looking for some sort of boot that she would put on over the sliders.

Do these boots even exist? Has anyone tried something like that before?
I really appreciate you guys taking the time to ease my mind lol it sounds like my trainer is poisoning my brain for cash

Ringo-Slater

· #16 · 10 mo ago

fawnprintz said:
Do these boots even exist? Has anyone tried something like that before?
I really appreciate you guys taking the time to ease my mind lol it sounds like my trainer is poisoning my brain for cash

Could you use cloud boots or something similar

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macy.hj

· #17 · 10 mo ago (Edited by Moderator)

Am I reading right? Will you just be able to ride in shows??? Idk. But either way it feels like you should keep your horse at your place. And he wouldn’t get turned out? No. Just no. Horses need to be turned out. Don’t do that, please! I don’t know much about reining ( I’m an eventer) and am just learning about sliders. Are they what I think they are? ok I googled them. They seem ok, but it does say only on soft ground. ehhhhh, any alternatives? Anybody? just make sure your horse is 💯 happy. But try some other disciplines!!! See what you think. You can still be a big time reiner while still keeping your horse at home! I recommend buying the horse you want, and having fun with him! If you feel like he’s good enough to go to the bigger shows, do it! A pro horse can 100% go and trail ride!!!! In fact, it’s really good for them. I honestly don’t think boarding at the described barn is the right choice here. Whatever you do, good luck 👍.

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farmpony84

· #18 · 10 mo ago

Ringo-Slater said:
Could you use cloud boots or something similar

I'm pretty sure you can. I think you just measure the hoof with the shoe on for them.

Knave

· #19 · 10 mo ago

I’ve only owned one open reiner myself, but my parents owned a couple when I was growing up too. Were they turned out in sliders? Yep. Shoot, we cowboyed on them in sliders. Did they do low level shows sometimes? For sure. Low end shows are good training avenues too. If you need to fix anticipation issues say, do it at a low level show you are willing to throw.

I thought a monkey could show a couple reiners I’ve ridden in my life, but I was proven wrong by a few people. Your caliber of getting a horse shown is whatever it is. Yet, in any case, you being able to get a horse shown will be improved by riding said horse on a consistent basis.

I also believe that a top end horse is only improved by doing outside things. All of ours have been used to cowboy. I’ve seen a few that couldn’t handle doing both, so that can be true, but shop for one that is good outside as well as inside. You are going to be breaking the bank, so get exactly what you want.

I think your trainer is full of nonsense myself. Either he/she has no faith in your ability, or he/she is looking for the paycheck. It is hard, trying to train a horse someone else rides and keep them up at their best, but that’s what the money is for.

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COWCHICK77

· #20 · 10 mo ago

fawnprintz said:
Amazing!! Thank you so much!

How do I go about the sliders? Can they be out without any issues? Should I look into over-the-shoe boots for turn-out and trails?

Depends on how big of a slider/trailer and your turnout situation along with if he's the type of horse that can be responsible for himself turned out. If you take a horse that's never been turned, turn him out on 50 acres in the rocks in the brush, he's going to hurt himself whether he's got sliders or not.

We used to duct tape sliders for turn out. It helps from them hanging the trailer on anything to pull it off and it gave a bit of traction in a turnout.

As far as riding in them outside, again depends on how big of a slider/trailer and where youre riding. Ive ridden them outside on frozen ground gathering cattle but Im careful. Its good way to stifle or split their hips if they get fast or slip. But that is with a cow horse slider not a big reiner one.

Zimalia22 said:
When I bought my Cat stallion, he'd been at a well known reining trainer's place. They owned him. But, and this was huge, he HATES sliding. If he feels himself slip even a tiny bit, it's forget it! He's done! As cutters, we lope a LOT to get horses warmed up. Cat felt himself slip a bit in the warm up pen, and that was it, he was done. Oh you could get him to walk, but anything over that, nope not happening. LOL Then I took him inside, and he cut the hair off that buffalo!
He had sliders on when I bought him. I don't know why, he was not anywhere near far enough in training for them. Needless to say, when I got him delivered to my ranch, they were the first order of business to get rid of. Guess I should have had them bronzed as baby shoes or something.
Can't speak for other horses, but I can for that stallion. He would have NEVER made a reiner as much as he hates to slip.

This makes me sad. It sounds like he got asked to stop too hard and/or had too big of a slider on, slid and he got scared. Regardless of breeding most horses if physically capable, will take a sliding stop if introduced to it correctly. Once you scare them especially as a youngster, it's pretty hard to get them over it. Don't get me wrong some horses love it and some will just do it but they shouldn't be terrified of it if it was taught correctly.

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